Category: 學西班牙文

互聯網的誕生和興盛，令學習語言容易得多了。上網成癮，耗費大量精神和時間，是現代人的通病，但網上資源豐富，利用互聯網來學習，充實自己，卻是人類的福音。

我正努力學習西班牙文，覺得現在學語言真的比從前容易多了，因為網上太多有用的學習材料可用，而且很多還是免費的。在這裏且分享我找到的幾個學西班牙文的資源。

首先要介紹的是LingQ，它是我現時付費用的學西文app，一個月約十美金，但如果你訂購一年，通常都有折扣。我喜歡這個app，最主要因為它的內容提供transcription,可以一邊聽西文，一邊看文字，對訓練聽力很有用。不懂的生字，可以儲存在app裏面，不時溫習。而且LingQ裏面有不同程度的學習資料供聆聽和學習，全部都有transcription。它還有一個特別功能，就是能把網上的西文新聞或文章import入app裏面，這樣您就可以在一個地方統一學習所有的生詞，亦可以利用app提供的工具，輕易查閱生字。

如果要説LingQ的缺點，我會認為是內容仍然不夠多。如果有更多的學習資料可選擇，就更好了。

因為LingQ，我認識了幾個學習西班牙文的podcast，都是很不錯的內容和製作。每次聽，都有得益，尤其適合好像我這種程度（介乎初級和中級之間或中級程度）的學生，對於訓練聽力，最好不過。然而，LingQ只是收錄了每個podcast製作的部份內容。要看到全部的內容，就要到各自的podcast網站／youtube 上看，其中我以下會提到的learnspanish.net甚至在後來不再在LingQ出現。

我要推介的學西班牙文podcast有：

1. www.espanolautomatico.com (女主持聲音甜美，聽得很舒服，transcription免費下載）
2. www.spanishpodcast.net (男主持説的西班牙文很清楚，內容有趣，部份內容可以在youtube看，開了字幕，就有transcription啦，就這樣簡單！）
3. www.unlimitedspanish.com (男主持Oscar講得較慢，內容有用有趣，在其網站可找到podcast和transcription)

有這麼多資源，但覺學海無涯，要努力加把勁了！

今年六月重遊西班牙，因爲初時住的地方有電視機，於是有機會看了不少西班牙電視，發覺不少新聞或資訊頻道的電視都有西班牙文字幕，不過字幕通常不是和畫面説話的人同聲出現，往往是延後出現，即便這樣，我發覺對我學習西班牙文很有幫助。所以在到達西班牙的頭一個星期，我是狂看電視。

因爲這個經驗，回到香港後，我就在找有西班牙文字幕的影像，最後找到了一個好地方，就是Euronews的西班牙文頻道。這個網站不會在有聲的畫面配字幕，但如果新聞是有影像的話，會附有transcript。這樣我就可以一邊聽新聞，一邊看transcript，一邊學西班牙文了，這對聽力訓練尤其有好處，而這方面往往是初學者最弱的。

除了Euronews， 我還找到兩個網站，標榜提供配有字幕的錄像（包括新聞和各種生活情景）供人學習西班牙文，因爲要收費，我暫時還未用過。但在西班牙看電視的經驗令我明白爲什麽會有這些學習西班牙文的網站出現（其中一個還是過去一年左右才出現的），同時爲什麽他們堅稱這是學西班牙文的有效方法。正在學習西班牙文的朋友可試試看。

我其實還有一個想法，就是找西班牙鬼才導演艾慕杜華的電影來看，反正他的電影我衹是看了兩三部，但要找有字幕的來看，這樣既可以欣賞電影，也可以同時學西班牙文，豈不兩全其美？

科技進步，對人類有機亦有危，其中説到機會，一定包括學習語言的機會。現在學習一種新的語言，可以找到的資源比以前多很多，現在的人是有福的。

有位讀者最近留言，分享她在看了我的blog後去西班牙Granada讀西巴牙文的情況。我在這裡寫過我在Granada的學校Catila學習的情況，不少讀者可能因此選了Castila. 一位叫AL的讀者也選了，但遭遇不太好，她分享了她的情況和建議。我很感謝她，並用英文作了回應，我倆的對答見下。

因爲這位讀者的遭遇，我想在這裡再談談到西班牙讀西班牙文的事，有幾點分析想特別提出來，希望能幫到大家：

1．我在Castila度西班牙文已是好多年的事，老師已面目全非，彼時好，不等於是此時好，所以，是不是選Castila, 大家要自行決定。

2．Granada是我西班牙至愛的城市，似乎所有去過人都同意，Granada是個好選擇。

3．大家選校的時候，最緊要循一個方向，就是永遠不要在出發前報讀一間學校超過兩個星期或一個星期 （有些學校規定最少報讀兩個星期，有些則規定最少一個星期），學校好，繼續讀，如果不好，其他選擇多的是（西班牙每個稍大的城市都有很多西班牙文學校）。

4．我建議大家還是夏天去讀西班牙文，因爲夏天的時候，很多歐洲和美國的學生會來到西班牙進修西班牙文，學校最旺就是這個時間，人多的好處是，學校有能力開很多不同程度的班，你被編入適合你程度的班的機會就大得多。試想想，如果學習在同一時間只有五個學生，而他們的程度都是高於你的，學校會為你一個人開一個初級程度的班嗎？可能性幾乎是零的。

5．夏天去讀西班牙文的另一個好處是，很多節慶和文化活動都是在艷陽高照的夏天才會舉行，你在西班牙的生活會更多姿彩。

6．至於住宿，學校提供的住宿一定是比自己在當地租個地方住為貴的，這是學校收入的一部分，可以理解。住學校提供的住宿好處是方便，不用自己找。不好的地方當然是不是太便宜。如果你是打算在一個城市停留一段時間的，可以考慮先住學校提供的住宿，安頓好後，自己再找住的地方。

這些提點，希望對有心去西班牙讀西班牙文的人有幫助。再次感謝這位讀者的留言。謝謝你AL.

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1. anna says:

   March 3, 2013 at 12:13 am  
   

   Hi I thank you very much for taking time to write your and your friend’s experience. It will be very helpful for those wanting to study spanish in spain. I am sorry for what happened to you and your friend. I absolutely agree that there are many schools in granada and you should choose one that suits you. That is why I always tell people not to enrol in a school before you leave your home country for more than 2 weeks. Give it a try for two weeks or even a week, and if you don’t like it,choose some other schools because there are just so many of them.

   I was in Castila quite some years ago. I know that two of the best teachers whom we all loved left the school later. Time has passed and the teachers are very different now, I believe. What was good then does not mean that it would be that way forever. Or good things cannot last?

   About putting people not in the same level, i believe it is because it is winter time. Peak time for language schools across spain is summer. Many students will come during summer and that means there is very high chance that the schools can form classes of various levels and you will be put into the right level class. I believe this happens not only in Castila,but other schools in Spain. During summer there are also more interesting things going on in the city. That is one reason I recommend that it is better to study during summer. What is more, winter in granada can be very cold just as summer very hot.

   About the coordinator going into the flat to check the gas, i think you / your friend should make a serious complaint to the management and demand apology. it is indeed outrageous. When i was in castila, the management was reasonable. I don’t know who is the management now. But no matter what, you/ your friend should complain.

   about accommodation, i agree that your observation is right. but renting an apartment works only if you stay in a city long. If you stay just for a short period of time, you don’t want the trouble of renting a place yourself. also, the fun of living under one roof with other classmates will be lost. i had a great time living in the school accommodation then, and it was summer time. i could go to other school accommodation for swimming, and we cooked together, had pool party, etc.

   Thanks again for your helpful comment and reminder. I feel sorry that after reading my blog you and your friend went to castila and had some bad experience. Things are in flux. Nothing stays the same…
2. AL says:

   March 2, 2013 at 12:17 am  
   

   Dear Anna,

   After reading your blogs, I went to Granada and Castila for quite a few weeks. It is so true that Granada is in fact a beautiful, beautiful city. Everyone I met there falls in love with it.

   Yet, I do want to share my experience in Castila with all the readers who want to study Spanish (if you don’t mind). Castila isn’t necessarily the right school for you to learn Spanish. It largely depends on what you look for during your stay in Granada.

   If your purpose of going to Granada is just to have a relaxing holiday, and meeting people, it is absolutely a great place for you since they have a nice garden.

   However, if you go there hoping to learn Spanish seriously, go somewhere else and look for other schools. There are plenty in Granada you can choose from. As far as I have observed and most of the comments I heard from my classmates about the school are not positive. At the end of your stay, you are asked to fill in the form stating whether you will recommend it to your friends. And many of my classmates answered a “No”, which are due to a few reasons.

   In the first place, the school isn’t organized and so as the curriculum. One of the advantages of language school is flexibility (because there aren’t many students and the classes are unstructured). Unfortunately also due to the “flexibility”, you will be moved from one class to another. Sometimes you are assigned with the students at your level, other times with the people at a lower or higher level than yours. It could happen that you learn the same things for three weeks because there are always new students coming in and their Spanish level is below yours. Or when there aren’t many students, you will be in a class of mixture, ranging from A1 to C1 (the very beginners level to the advanced level).
   Talking about unstructured class, I also mean that the teachers (not all the time, but quite some times) come to the class WITHOUT preparation! If an unprepared lesson is what you are paying for, go for it! But I tell you the truth, you can actually do it with language exchange. There are a lot out there for FREE!

   In the second place, the housing conditions are unpleasant. If you ask for the accommodation from the school, you pay up to 300-400 euros a month. However, no internet is included. The internet provided is borrowed from your neighborhood and so, the connection could be quite poor as reception is diminished every wall the signal passes. In fact, Granada is really a beautiful, but cheap city to stay/ live. For 200 euros, you can rent a place with everything (smooth wifi, hot shower, PRIVACY and heater) included for a month. For 400-500 euros, you can even rent an apartment your own without sharing with others and again, with everything (smooth wifi, hot shower, PRIVACY and heater) included.

   In the third place, the heater at your place doesn’t function very well. It could be disastrous if you go there in winter. There are two types of heater provided in the accomodation. One is the portable one, which obviously isn’t warm enough. Another one is operated by gas. However, my friend had a very unpleasant experience about staying in a flat with the gas-operated heater. Although it is written on the web that everything is included, it is not true as described. It is because when my friends went to the classes at school, the coordinator of the school went to their place and check if they turned off the heater and made sure it was only at 20 degree celcius!!! That is absolutely outrageous. By what principle that he is allowed to enter the apartment without any permission when my friends already paid for the few months they stayed in the flat?! I have never heard of the owners can come in freely and go out of the apartment that is already rented and even CRITICIZE the way you live!!!

   Anna, I’m sorry for writing so long here. I love Granada too, but I also hope that the people who genuinely want to learn Spanish can go to the right school which worth the money.

以下是一些心得，謹供參考：

1. 厄瓜多爾是南美學西班牙文的聖地﹐便宜之外﹐當地人講的西語很清楚和標準﹐而且有不少學校供選擇。住在當地人家中﹐包早午晚餐﹐每日也不過十多美金。

2. 厄瓜多爾之外﹐可選秘魯和玻利維亞﹐兩個地方都有不少語言學校﹐其中數秘魯的學校較多和較有規模。

3. 阿根廷是一個多姿多彩的國家，在當地學西班牙文可以享受當地的文化和生活﹐但存有一個問題﹐就是阿根廷人的西班牙文發音非常「阿根廷化」﹐例如ll兩個字母在一起﹐他們會發類似國語「者」的音 ﹐其他講西語的地方卻是國語「熱」的音﹔文法上亦自成一格﹐例如「你」的變格是Vos﹐而不是西語世界流行的Vous﹐這用法除了阿根廷﹐就只有其鄰國巴拉圭使用。而且阿根廷的本土用語特別多﹐你在阿根廷學回來的西班牙文﹐可能不是很多人會明白。

4. 不要盡信學校的網站﹐最好親自到學校視察才決定報讀。語言學校報名很富彈性和方便，可以即時報名，即日或第二日就可以上堂，課程通常在每個星期的星期一開始。切忌在出發前報讀長課程和交付所有學費，到了學校發覺不喜歡，就壞事了。

5. 如果你決定在出發前選定學校，最緊要看學校的課程安排和課外活動。好的學校都會安排豐富的課外活動給學生，學生從中學到的可能比上堂還多。另外，最好向學校要舊生的聯絡方法，聯絡他們，看他們對學校的評價。學校一般都會徵詢了一些舊生的同意，可以傳遞他們的聯絡方法給你。或者在網上查看有關學校的評價。

我去過西班牙三次，每次都去語言學校讀西班牙文，到訪過的城市分別有Jarez, Granada 和Salamanca。

三個城市我都喜歡，當然令我最醉心的城市是Granada。這個城市有種特別的氛圍是別的西班牙城市所沒有的，而這種味道不是停留一兩日可以體會出來的，你一定要住在這個城市一段時間，才會有深刻的體驗。Granada有很多特色，其中一個特色是如果你在餐廳點了飲品，可以是一瓶可口可樂，或一杯紅酒，或一杯特飲，你會免費獲贈一碟tapa。即是說，你只需付兩三歐元，就已經可以填飽肚子了。記得有一間餐廳不送tapa，改送漢堡包，晚上總擠滿人，其門若市。所以，Granada的生活費在西班牙來説算是便宜的，亦因此吸引了不少浪人在這個城市生活，令這個城市的味道與別不同。

Granada在南部的安達魯省（andalucia），這個地區的文化很有特色，佛蘭明哥音樂和舞蹈就源於此。來西班牙而不遊安達魯省，就是沒有去過西班牙。

但南部的夏天很熱，我上一次去的時候是夏天，熱浪迫人，甚至熱死人。雖然是熱，還是要選夏天去，因爲夏天才是這裡全年最精彩的時間，各種節慶和大型文化節目，例如佛蘭明哥（flamenco）節，都會在夏天舉行。

其實，熱不是問題，因爲中午最熱的時間，鋪頭和餐廳（除非遊客區）都會關門，這個時候最好就是睡個午覺，睡到三點多，不是太熱，就可以再出外，例如去餐廳吃tapa，或去學佛蘭明哥舞。我在Granada的時候跟私人老師學佛蘭明哥舞，老師是安排在下午四點上堂的。

西班牙的夜晚很長，這裡的人通常在晚上九點鐘以後才吃晚飯，周末玩到通宵達旦，很多酒吧是開到天光的。記得離開Salamanca那日清晨，召了的士六點鐘在樓下等候，然後坐的士去火車站，沿途酒吧人聲鼎沸，在寂靜的清晨，形成獨特的風景綫。